Eric Sherwood helped save his friend Charles Guimond (pictured) when a boat they and two other men were in capsized on Square Lake in Aroostook County on Tuesday afternoon, according to Guimond’s mother, Stephanie Kelley. Guimond is the only one of the four men, all from Fort Fairfield, found alive Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Guimond family)
SQUARE LAKE TOWNSHIP, Maine — The search for two men who went missing and are presumed dead after their boat capsized during a fishing expedition on Square Lake last week was suspended Monday because of severe thunderstorms in the forecast.
Eric Sherwood, 43, and Mark Chambers, 51, have been missing since the afternoon of Tuesday, June 13, when they went out on Square Lake in a 12-foot motorboat with Charles Guimond, 23, and Mark’s brother Martin Chambers, 56.
Sherwood’s girlfriend notified the Maine Warden Service at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday, when the four men from Fort Fairfield failed to return to the Chambers camp on the lake where they were staying.
Guimond was recovered alive after he clung for hours to the overturned boat before it drifted to shore, where he was spotted from the air by a Maine Warden Service pilot at about 5 a.m. that Wednesday.
Later that afternoon, Pilot Gary Dumond spotted the body of Martin Chambers in shallow waters on the lake’s southeastern shore.
Wardens since have continued to search for the missing men, but their efforts have been hampered by unfavorable weather conditions.
Eric Sherwood (pictured) helped save his friend Charles Guimond when a boat they and two other men were in capsized on Square Lake in Aroostook County on Tuesday afternoon, according to Guimond’s mother, Stephanie Kelley. Guimond is the only one of the four men, all from Fort Fairfield, found alive Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Guimond family)
Cpl. Mike Joy, the warden dive team leader, suspended the search efforts on Monday afternoon due to approaching severe weather which would make searching unsafe for the divers, according to a press release.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Monday afternoon into Tuesday, stating “some storms could be severe, with hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain.”
Wardens may resume the search on Wednesday as weather conditions allow.
“We assess day to day and will continue to search so long as it is reasonable and safe for divers to continue searching,” according to Cpl. John MacDonald, the public relations and information officer for the warden service.
The dive team has been utilizing side scan sonar to conduct a grid search of the bottom of the lake and as of Monday had covered about 600 acres, MacDonald said. He said searchers hoped to cover another 450 acres of the vast Aroostook County lake when the weather permitted.
The search area, which was determined by wind direction and statements provided by the only survivor, is two miles long by three quarters of a mile wide, according to MacDonald.
He said in the press release that pilot Dumond also scanned the shoreline of Square Lake this past weekend looking for any clues that might help searchers on the water.
MacDonald said it’s unlikely the bodies of the missing men drifted into another body of water.
Members of the Maine Warden Service and officials with the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency gather at the public boat launch on Square Lake, at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 14. Officials began searching earlier that morning for three men still missing after their boat capsized on the lake the previous afternoon. (Liz Theriault)
Square Lake is part of the Fish River chain of lakes and is located between Eagle and Cross lakes.
The four men had left the Chambers camp on Square Lake at about 3:30 p.m. June 13 and planned to fish the thoroughfare between Square Lake and Eagle Lake when their 12-foot boat started to take on water as high winds caused swells of 4 to 5 feet, according to wardens.
All four clung to the boat until dark, according to wardens, but Guimond, who was the only one wearing a lifejacket, was able to hang on until it drifted to shore where he was spotted by a warden plane at about 5 a.m. Wednesday.
